Posts tagged Legislation

You might think that legislation should be freely accessible as a matter of course, but the state of Georgia begs to differ. It's suing Public.Resource.Org owner Carl Malamud for allegedly violating copyright by publishing the annotated versions of Georgia's laws (that is, the ones that truly refl...

As wildfires scorched sections of California Interstate I-15 last week, firefighters found themselves hamstrung and unable to deliver aerial water coverage for nearly 20 minutes because a couple of schmucks were flying their quadcopters directly overhead. In response, Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Gle...

Posting revenge porn has always been a bad idea, but the UK is about to make examples of those heartless enough to share nude photos of their exes. As of Monday, the country's Criminal Justice and Court Act treats revenge porn as a specific crime. Publicize racy private images with the "intent to...

Hop onto a site like Airbnb or One Fine Stay and you'll find plenty of houses, flats and rooms available in London for short-term rental. While these are perfect for visitors after a more homely (and sometimes cheaper) stay in the capital, those wanting to squeeze a few quid out of their dormant s...

New York City isn't always kind to ridesharing services like Lyft and Uber, but those companies have just gained an important ally. BuzzFeed News has learned that state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently sent a letter to NYC's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) opposing rules that would...

The posting of 'revenge porn' may become unequivocally illegal in England and Wales soon, after the House of Lords agreed yesterday the law should be amended to specifically include the practice. Currently, anyone that shares explicit images to humiliate a former partner can be prosecuted under se...

Remember the New York hotel that imposed $500 fines for any guest who wrote disparaging reviews on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor? The state of California does, and has decided that it wants to stop the practice of any business, including hotels and restaurants inserting "non-disparagement" claus...

Well, it seems like the US cellphone unlocking bill didn't get held up legislation after all: the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act just passed through the House of Representatives with unanimous support. The measure reverses the 2012 decision that made phone unlocking a viola...

Journalists in the US and UK may be relatively safe from the government's wrath when they report on surveillance leaks from the likes of Edward Snowden, but the Australian press may have to tread carefully before too long. Attorney General George Brandis has presented a bill that would make it a c...

The US is now that much closer to a law that makes it legal to unlock your phone. A few months after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize unlocking, the Senate has passed its own measure accomplishing mostly the same thing. The biggest difference is their attitude toward...

Though nearly 150,000 people signed a petition last summer asking the United States government to allow Tesla Motors the ability to sell cars directly to consumers, the White House won't help. "We believe in the goal of improving consumer choice for American families, including more vehicles that...